Ultimate
by Phantasmal.Girl
Summary: [Altered timeline] After a new shadow game causes the worlds of beyblade and duel monsters to collide, Keiko must face the demons of her past while watching the future, all while dealing with gay boys and legal guardians.Rated for swearing, yaoi and Tala.
1. New age dawning

New Age Dawning

"_Yami no Game... Starto."_

The chilling voice swept through the minds that had opened themselves to the shadows, rusted doors creaking open to reveal the horrors of imagination and anger. On the streets of Tokyo, a young teen shivered violently, drawing in a sharp gasp as the shadows _pushed_ against her already cracked and strained mental awareness – begging and pleading for her to let them out.

She shook her head violently, slamming her bruised and bloody fist into the brick wall, crying out as she felt bones shatter and crumble. Drawing a sobbing gasp, she cradled the broken limb to her chest, leaning her shoulder against the brick for support until the white stars faded from her vision. Drawing what little shadows she _had _control over, she blocked pain, wrapping her wrist and fingers in a blanket of numbing cold before gripping it and snapping it back into proper alignment.

Stumbling to the front of the alleyway, the dark haired teen shuddered, warm tears streaking down her face as the shadows reached out to grab her and try to tangle her back into their web of cold and nothingness. She didn't fall for it. Not this time. Lashing out at her lack of obedience, the shadows hissed and snarled, growing impatient at her refusal to play the game.

Narrowing her eyes in a glare, she swiped back, her nails dissipating the wispy tar black substance that served as the shadows real-world bodies. Koenma was going to have a field day with this one she knew. Emerging onto the street, she let out an audible sigh of relief as the shadows skirted around the light, spitting and hissing in their nonsensical language of colours and temperature.

Despite the late hour, business was blooming and the streets were alive with tourists, prostitutes, gamblers and junkies, all looking for a good time and quick cash. Wiping her eyes on her coat sleeve, she ran a hand through her hair shakily until it looked presentable then focused on straightening her skirt and dress top. Thanking the fashion God(dess) for her intuition, the teen adjusted her low healed dress shoes and buttoned her jacket. Looking every bit like the part she was playing, the girl strode purposely towards her destination; The Holton Hotel. Temporary home to the competing Beyblade teams for the duration of the World Series.

Wiping as much blood as possible off on a handkerchief she had stashed in her pocket, her injured hand was kept at her side unobtrusive and unseen. Running her good hand through her hair one last time, she glanced over herself in a store window and smiled a practiced business smile, one that kept emotion on the outside and negotiating on the inside. Smoothing her skirt down one last time, she stepped up to the brightly lit hotel doors and nodded politely to the doorman who escorted her in.

The lobby was well lit and awash with neutral colours accented with bold reds and royal blues, the cream undertones setting a false sense of security. There was no such thing as safe in Tokyo, not anymore. Striding confidently to the front desk, she waited until the clerk had finished her phone call before demanding her attention.

"Good Evening Miss. How may I help you?" Reaching into her pocket, the teen drew out a sealed letter with a three letter name elegantly scripted on the front.

"Evening. I'm afraid I must ask a favor. This needs to get to Kai Hiwatari of the Blade Breakers." Passing the letter over, the brunette watched as the woman on the other side of the desk studied the letter, a worry and apology leaking into her eyes.

"I'm sorry miss, but we have been instructed not to deliver fan mail to any teams staying here." The teen dipped her head in acceptance and tapped her manicured fingers on the counter.

"Oh, it's not fan mail. It's a conformation letter; I was contacted earlier this week by the teams sponsor Mr. Dickenson, asking if a few of the teams would be allowed a sneak preview of Tokyo Museums new exhibit opening next month. It has references to the creation of Beyblading." The lie came easily, rolling off her tongue with practiced ease as she schooled her face into a peaceful smile.

"I… see. So you are…?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Keiko Yukimura, assistant curator for Tokyo Museum." The woman's face relayed shock and admiration as she stood and took the letter.

"Of course! I knew I had seen you somewhere before! I apologize for the misunderstanding, Yukimura-san. I will have the letter delivered as soon as possible." Bowing, the woman smiled and called for who Keiko assumed to be room service or someone of the sort.

"It's no problem. Thank you very much." Keiko bowed politely to the woman and bid her good night before turning to leave the hotel. Slipping a few yen into the doorman's coat pocket, she fell into the rhythm of the street allowing her posture relax and her feet to be carried out by the tide. Glancing down at the address scribbled on her palm, Keiko made her way to a run down hotel that looked like it had barely passed inspection, grimacing as she pushed open the chipped green door.

Placing a 50 on the front desk, she accepted the clipboard and signed her name. "I'm expecting company." She informed the small teen behind the desk who looked like it was past his bedtime. The boy nodded and stared at her in wide-eyed curiosity. She silenced a snort as she took the key he slid across the counter and sauntered towards her room. Poor kid probably thought she was a hooker.

Kai Hiwatari was in a bad mood. A bad mood that he strongly suspected had started with drunken Russians, bottomless pit teammates, and playful kittens. Stalking into the hotel lobby, Kai was looking forward to having a long hot relaxing shower before crawling into bed and ignoring the world. Or beating Takao with a stick, one of the two. This break in character however, was overlooked as he viciously punched in the floor number they required, listening as the elevator doors slid shut with a hiss.

Enduring the short ride from the lobby to the 14th floor, Kai restrained himself from killing his team mates and very nearly launched himself out of the small metal box as soon as the doors started opening. Forcing himself to walk calmly and only a tad faster than normal towards his room, he swiped the keycard through the slot and shoved open the door – and nearly tipped over a white envelope that had been slid under his door.

"God-dammit!" He cursed and quickly regained his balance by grabbing onto the doorframe. Bending over, he snatched up the envelope, glaring at it like his eyes alone would incinerate it. Unfortunately for Kai, Rei saved the poor letter before he had a chance to practice his incineration glare thoroughly.

"What's this?" The neko-jin asked, studying the neat calligraphy spread across the envelope. Kai shrugged moodily. "Hn." Rei swatted him in the shoulder for his poor communication skills and carried the letter into the small kitchen area.

"The writings not recognizable. You might want to open it just in case it's important though." Digging through the bar fridge, Rei came up with a sandwich he had stashed earlier along with two bottles of water. Tossing one to Kai he clicked his tongue and sat down.

The dual haired beyblader grumbled a bit before rolling his eyes and slitting open the packet with his pocketknife. Unfolding the single piece of paper, he scanned over the short informal letter, written in the same neat calligraphy as his name was done in. Flipping it over, he found no other words, just the few scrawled across the middle of the page. Flicking his eyes back up to the letter, he frowned.

"Rei what time is it?" The black haired boy glanced behind him and bit into his sandwich. "Just after 11 why?" Rei watched startled as Kai growled and stood, knocking the chair back in his haste. Slamming the letter back on the table he cursed.

"Fuck! Call Tala would you? Tell him to get his drunk ass down in the lobby, 10 minutes." Rei was confused with the sudden chilled anxiety in Kai's voice, but hurried to do as he said. The phone call was simple, Rei found that talking to Bryan was easier and had much less hissing involved than when Tala was on the other end. The lavender haired man promised to have the red head dressed appropriately and ready in 7. Rei had barely placed the phone back on the cradle when his jacket was thrown at him and Kai had a hold on his wrist and was yanking him out the door.

Deciding against questioning his captain/crush on _why_ exactly he was barging out of the hotel scarcely half an hour after bitching that the team needed sleep for the next days training, Rei quickened his pace so he was walking beside Kai instead of behind him. They met up with Tala and Bryan on the stairs, and Rei switched places with the red head, letting him pry information out of the stoic Russian.

Back on the hotel table a short note that contained nothing more than an address and a date gave away to the only secrets the world had been kept from.

For information on the events occurring February 14, 2004 otherwise known as the Bloody Valentines Day, meet at 1300 Hopeshield Blvd at 11:30 pm on Tuesday November 6th.

Keiko paced restlessly over the threadbare carpet of the motel room, absently chewing her nail as she watched the news. So far, there hadn't been any reported deaths. Then again, it was only local news until 12. Glancing up at the clock set on the mantel that boasted a fake fire, Keiko scowled. 11:54. A sharp rap at the door caught her attention and she wrenched open the flimsy wood barrier before the fists could knock it down.

"It's about fucking _time_! Where have you been?" The carrot topped teen sighed and grabbed onto Keiko's biceps, bodily picking her up and moving her into the room so he could get in. A woman in her early twenties followed, snuffing out a cigarette on the ashtray as she kicked the door closed behind her.

"Jesus kid, cool it. Last thing we need is a scene. The guy up front already thinks you're a prostitute." Shizuru grinned, grabbing the younger woman into a brief embrace. Keiko rolled her eyes and squeezed the woman back, before stepping away and looking over the siblings. "You two look like Hell caught a cold." She commented, drawing two bottles of chilled water from the fridge and tossing one to each before grabbing one for herself. Kazuma shrugged.

"Something like that. Rekai's in an uproar, Koenma can only bury us so far before he's got to go under himself." Her friend looked at her from under his bangs. "You sure you don't want to come with us?" Keiko shook her head and sipped her water.

"No. One of us needs to stay up top. Besides, I'll have company." The Kuwabara siblings didn't seem convinced, but then again everyone had a right to be paranoid these days. Shizuru dipped her head in understanding before sliding her bag off her shoulder and letting it fall onto the bed.

"I brought you some stuff. Should be enough to keep you afloat for the next little while. It's got what you need to customize a blade, set up a deck and run repairs and stats. You said it would be at least three weeks until you heard from Domino City?" The elder brunette pulled out the laptop, cords and various other equipment she was familiar with from her blading days.

"Yeah. They're still doing emergency pulls from the shadow realm. Trying to seal off what they can so we can still hold partial control. The monsters have all been shunted back to their cards until we get the okay." Keiko pulled a stack of Duel Monster cards from her jacket pocket. "Speaking of which, I have something for you." Drawing the top two cards she threw them at the Kuwabara's. They were caught with ease and grace and two arched bows went up together as they looked over the cards.

"A gift from Shiori." Kazuma nodded and tucked the card away, Shizuru following suit. Keiko tucked her own cards back inside her pocket and threw herself down on the bed.

"When do you guys leave?" She watched as Shizuru crossed over to the window and pushed the curtains aside, lifting the latch and hefting the glass up. Cool air washed through the room along with the sharp scent of fresh tobacco. Clicking her lighter closed, Shizuru inhaled deeply and blew the smoke out the window before answering.

"The next few days. Koenma's secured a path through the shadow realm that'll get us to one of Kaiba's establishments in the United States. He just has to destroy all records of the Rekai Tantei and us before he goes. In a few hours we won't exist, and the government will have brand spanking new records of Ishtar Keiko, curator of the Domino Museum and the proud owner of a dual citizenship." Keiko sighed and nodded, transferring the equipment on the bed to her own bag.

"All right. I'm leaving in the morning to get the Tauk from Pegasus." She paused to pull out a small round gold object from the depths of her bag.

"I promised him I'd exchange it for the Sennen eye. I figure it'll take TK about three weeks to figure out who has it and to gouge it back out of his head with a spoon." Kazuma snorted, trying to cover his snickering with a cough. Shizuru smirked, shaking her head and flicking her ashes out the window.

"What about the Blade Breakers? Think they'll fly with this?" Keiko nodded.

"Yeah. I can't see a reason for them not to. They're all victims of Bloody Valentines, and Kai, Bryan Tala and I are Abbey veterans. They won't back away from that." She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and made a face.

"I would have brought them here to explain it, but I was… fighting my own battles that day. So I sent them to the one person who can explain this properly." Shizuru and Kazuma looked at her skeptically.

"Who?"

--

Kai stepped out of the cab and look up at the wrought iron gate that blocked their progress. Paying the driver, he pulled Rei out of the car and closed the door, waiting for Tala and Bryan to do the same before walking to the intercom. Pressing the buzzer, they waited in silence until the gate clicked, and the light at the bottom of the 'com linked green. The gates fell open with a groan, revealing a wide twisting driveway that led up to a large mansion.

Tala shifted, warily eyeing his surroundings and subconsciously moving closer to Bryan, while Rei stiffened and glanced around nervously. The smell of death and heavy ancient magik hung in the air and it made him uncomfortable. It must have showed on his face because Kai was gripping his shoulder and asking him about it.

"Rei? What's wrong?" The neko-jin shuddered wrapping his arms around himself as the cold sank into his bones even though it was still warm out. "It's… this place. There's something… off." He explained lamely, trying to shake the pinpricks of awareness creeping up his back.

"Someone's watching us." He hissed out quietly, subtly glancing around for people or cameras. Bryan pulled Tala closer and jerked his head. "Shall we then?" Kai nodded.

"It's too late to leave now anyway." With that the boys silently made their way up the gravel path, each lost in his own thoughts and expectations of what the mansion would bring. Reaching the front steps, they made a move for the door only to watch it swing open on its own.

"Creepy." Tala broke away from Bryan and headed inside, followed by Rei then the remaining two Russians. The front hall was lit dimly; carvings of ancient depictions lined the walls along with paintings and various artifacts. Most looked to be from Arabia or possibly Egypt. It –almost- wasn't a surprise when the door closed on its own behind them, and they –should- have been expecting the smooth voice that came from the stairs. What they weren't, and shouldn't have been ready for was the shadows that pooled around their feet and dragged them under.

"Welcome blade-boys, to the shadow realm."

Keiko sweatdropped as Shizuru and Kazuma stared at her.

"Okay, okay! I _know_ he's got a thing for drama and will probably scare the crap out of them before explaining properly, but think about it! He was the idiot who opened the shadow realm in the first place!"

Miles away, Maximillion Pegasus sneezed in the middle of his dramatic speech.

End


	2. Hope comes in many swear words

Disclaimer: I don't own, you don't sue.

Warning: Contains Yaoi and sexual innuendos…and Tala.

Rated for language, violence, sexual tension, innuendos, boyXboy, and Tala…

_Could you live like me underground, _

_lonely sights and lonely sounds, _

_Could you fight the darkness all around, _

_No way up and always down _

_For me this is the only game in town,_

Switchblade

**Chapter one: Hope comes in many swear words.**

-Present day Japan-

"LET IT RIP!"

Kai Hiwatari watched from the wall of the in house practice beystadium, overseeing Max and Takaos' training. Kai sighed as Takao deflected Max's attack and re-aimed at the side of the beydish. Beyblading had become much more than just a game.

_'Five years ago, the human world had been thrown into a new era. A shadow era. Many had tried to complete the shadow game even the King of Games himself, however, non had yet to succeed.'_ Kai snorted. Maybe the fact that you need a team of twelve to do anything.

_'For two years they had tried in vain to find a weak spot in the game, or any information on the game creator, and it was only three years ago that a proposal had been made._

Kaiba Seto, CEO of Kaiba Corp, leading industry in the technology of duel disks had suggested that they merge the two most played games in the world. Duel Monsters and Beyblade. The merge was made and the elites of both worlds collided and began training as one. The duel Monster players taught the beybladers strategy and the beybladers taught the Duel Monster players strength in spirit. This was the only light in the darkness, and mankind's last hope of completing the shadow game.

'However, the result of the merging was a power so great, many had died trying to master it. Sacrificing their souls to the shadows to live to see another day.

_Only those with guardians, souls with a perfect balance of light and dark could wield the devastating power.' _

_The elites are of course, the bladers with bit beasts, and the best strategists of Duel Monsters who held the best cards. The training team included and had included for the past two and a half years;_

_Seto Kaiba, Katsuya Jounouchi (believe it or not), Atemu and Yugi –King of Games, Ryou and Bakura, Malik and Marik Ishtar, Mokuba Kaiba, Kai Hiwatari, Rei Kon, Takao , Max, and recently transferred from the Russian team, Tala Ivanhof and Bryan. _

_The team -for the most part- lived together under one roof and trained in the Kaiba household. However, occasionally, one or two would be taken for a week by Genkai, to be trained in spirit, or Shiori Minamato, to be trained in intense battle strategy to help them control the shadow power.'_

Kai snorted. '_Devastating power my ass.' _He thought glancing up and smirking at the sight of Takao and Max training. _'If these two can handle it, a two year old could master it…'_ He sniggered.

Shiori had been a mother of one of Keiko's friends who had 'disappeared' right before the shadow game, along with two others. Her best friend and –Kai growled and glared at nothing in particular- her boyfriend, as well as another friend of hers, Hiei. The three boys had left and hadn't been seen to this day. Shiori, mother of Shuichi had been devastated when people told her to give up on finding him. Kai suspected it wasn't the whole story and that Genkai and Keiko knew where the boys were along with two other characters…Shizuru and Kazuma Kuwabara. The two siblings had gone underground after the shadow game to gather information. The team never knew their location but information was received weekly. Kai himself had trained under both women and let them know what he thought of them.

"Senile witches." He muttered shuddering remembering the last 'session' he had with them. He was pretty sure cross dressing was never going to be part of a mission…

Keiko often disappeared for a few hours a week to go to the temple. What she did was unknown to all but probably Malik and Marik…Rei might know something. Again Kai growled, brought back to the twins, who now he knew where NOT related. The concept of Yami and Hikari had taken a while to process, and then Keiko had come into he picture and he got lost at Isis. Best he figured was that Isis had passed her sennen item onto Keiko when she died and now her soul remained as guidance. Just what he needed. Malik and Marik were clingy enough with out reason and now they _had_ one, he couldn't get them off her with out a crowbar and serious help. He snorted and shook his head before going back to reading his book on the history of shadow games.

"…"

"Wtf?! Who wrote this shit?" Kai flipped the book and glanced at the name written on the cover.

"Pegasus Maximillion. Figures the senile idiot would write something like this."

"Talking to yourself again Kai? People are going to start saying the same about you." Kai rolled his eyes.

"Only if I write a book that makes no sense and has no historical evidence. However if I wrote a book on how to manage teenage girls…" Kai trailed off and ducked as Keiko went to smack him.

"Besides, you can't be sane and live in this house. Common sense." Kai reassured himself more than his companion. The brunette rolled her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder and hugging him around the waist. Kai uncrossed his arms and wrapped them around her shoulders glancing at the dish.

"What's up?"

"Hm? Oh, dinners almost ready, if you're going to let them break."

"…I'll think about it."

"Rei said you have to let them eat."

"Damn." Kai released her before pushing her back to the door. "Go help finish up then and I'll bring the twits in soon." He grumbled when she laughed.

"Okay!" she glanced at the ring one more time before disappearing through the door. Kai waited another few minutes before letting the two finish up and get ready for dinner.

Upon exiting the 'quiet area' designated for training, the rest of the house was a chaotic war zone. Over hyper Egyptian hikaris' were bouncing off everything in sight, ancient pharaohs and Ex, (maybe not so o.O) Tomb robbers fought over the T.V remote, while Yugi watched the Digimon movie. Music blasted from several stereos and 'inside voices' was a lost concept. Kai rubbed his temples and headed into the kitchen, knowing it to be quieter, but still as chaotic.

"Marik get out of the kitchen Ra damn it!" Kai sidestepped just in time to evade the flying Egyptian boy.

"Oh hey Kai." Ryou stepped aside to let Kai in. "Rei-Rei's in here somewhere…"Kai nodded and entered only to be greeted by a flying ladle followed by a shout.

"OUT BAKURA!" The boy in question had attempted to sneak in after Kai but was foiled by, yes a ladle.

"Aw, but you let him in!" He grouched pointing at Kai.

"Special circumstances, now out!" Rei snapped, but his eyes gave away to amusement.

"Now sit on the couch and be good or you're on dishes for a week!" Rei threatened and watched as a foiled Bakura sulked and moved away from the door.

"Getting a little uptight love?" Kai asked with a raised eyebrow as Rei rolled his eyes and tried to hide the smile at Bakuras antics. Kai laughed and wrapped his arms around Rei smiling when he felt the neko-jin relax against him. After a moment Rei opened his mouth to speak but Kai beat him to it.

"I know, I'll talk to her." Rei sighed.

"I just don't know what to do Kai. Marik noticed to. It's getting worse every year." Kai closed his eyes.

"I know, I'll call Tala. He always knows what to do." Rei nodded.

"Speaking of our favourite red head," Kai growled, "-Shiori called today. We need to pack it up and move to Seto-kuns for a while. She wants us to work from the same place this time around. Thinks it will work for better coordination. They think they know how to get past the shadows and into the…what did she call it…ah! The Makai. There might be something there."

"They found something new?" Kai frowned and leaned closer, resting his chin on Rei's shoulder. The cat-boy shook his head.

"You know her. She won't answer yes or no if the world depended on it." Kai rolled his eyes in agreement. "Shizuru and Kuwabara coming with us?"

"I think so. But Genkai and Yukina are undecided as of yet. We'll know for sure numbers tomorrow. "

"Hn." They stood in silence for a minute ignoring everything and everyone around them and enjoyed what they knew was going to be the last moment of peace for a long while. Rei opened one blurry golden eye and was met with a spatula hitting him smack dab in the middle of his forehead.

"And just what was that for?" He demanded glaring at his youngest, and most high maintenance, surrogate child.

"For not paying attention." Keiko Yukimora, technically Keiko Ishtar-Hiwatari now, said smartly holding back a grin.

"I've been trying to talk to you for the past thirty seconds now! Mokuba's on the phone, says his brother is in England but wants us fully settled and destroying his good living room by the 6th. Mokuba's doing the detail work."

Kai rolled his eyes and took the phone carrying t out into the hall.

"Hey brat, what's up?" Keiko and Rei shared a collective sigh as they heard Mokuba's voice blowing out Kai's eardrums.

"Least it wasn't me." Keiko nodded in agreement before sticking her head out into the hallway and yelling for everyone to get their asses into the front dining room.

**Elsewhere…AkA, Russia. Tala's mansion.**

"Why? God damnit! WHY?! Why can't we go tomorrow? Or next week! Lord I haven't even done my second load of laundry yet and you're shipping me off to JAPAN?! We just got back from America! Just! As in like three hours ago!" The red head stopped his tirade for a minute to listen to the caller.

"_Yes_ damnit I need my clothes clean. No, I'm not leaving without a weeks worth of clean underwear." He paused again.

"_Fine._ We'll _go._ _After_ I finish my laundry." He huffed and hung up.

"PACK IT UP GUYS! WE'RE GOING TO JAPAN!"

**Back in said aforementioned country…**

Keiko threw herself back onto the couch and closed her eyes. The T.V. was tuned to news at 6 and she could hear Kaiba's voice commenting on the fast approaching World Tournament. The first one to be held since the beginning of the shadow game. She sighed.

The first one since the Valentine Massacre.

Keiko let her thoughts wander over memories she ignored and pushed away. Swallowing she rolled over when she felt the couch sink beside her. Gently hands moved her until her head and shoulders rested in someone's lap and their fingers slowly sifted through her hair. The couch sank again as someone lay beside her pulling her arm around them and snuggling in. Keiko smiled softly pulling the smaller body closer to her own and listened to the light breathing. The background sounds buzzed quietly, the distant sound of people talking, the T.V. random music, the alarm clock—THE ALARM CLOCK?!

Keiko bolted awake and fell to the floor with a muffled thump. Untangling herself from the cursed blankets she slammed her hand down on the snooze button. Upon seeing the time, Keiko twitched.

"BAKA ALARM CLOCK!!" A resounding crash was heard as the poor alarm clock collided with the far wall. Keiko then proceeded to curse in about every language known to man, creating some very unique sounding damnations that you really wouldn't want to be on the end of, and that was exactly what Rei thought as he tentatively knocked on the door and opened it a crack.

"You okay Keiko?" He asked standing in the doorway with no shirt and a laundry basket resting firmly on his hip.

"Oh yes darling…I'm perfectly fine. I did not just get woken up by the screeching of Brittany Spears, fall out of bed, destroy the **new** alarm clock and have the sneaking suspicion that I'm forgetting something and it's on its way to come and bite me in the ass." She smiled her expression coated with malice.

"How are you this morning Rei?" The neko-jin smiled sheepishly and raised his free hand in surrender.

"Okay, I get it. This is Keiko's 'alone' time. I'll just grab the laundry and be on my merry little way…" Keiko let out a sigh before standing to retrieve her dirty clothes basket and placing it on top of the one Rei was holding.

"Sorry for spazzing, I'm just not a morning person." Rei blinked before shaking his head.

"Sweetheart, it's 1:30 in the afternoon." Rei chuckled and kissed her forehead before moving back to the hall. Keiko stood in a semi dazed state.

"Whoa…Kai actually let me sleep that long?" She muttered stretching and yawning. Cracking open one eye she watched as Rei started to move to the next room.

"Hey Rei? Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Rei blinked before sending Keiko an accusing glare.

"I dunno, maybe it's because SOMEONE keeps stealing all of them, so by the time laundry day rolls around, I seem to be lacking in the clothes department." Keiko grinned.

"Yeah, I noticed those were Kai's pants…" She muttered before smiling sweetly.

"I always leave you enough to…I mean MALIK, Malik always leaves you enough to…to…" Keiko trailed off shrinking under Rei's pointed look.

"Get yourself confused with Malik there often honey?" He asked glancing at the laundry basket where **coincidently** one of shirts lay.

"Oh hush! Go do laundry so I can have more of your shirts…MY shirts! MY shirts!" Rei chuckled and dodged the pillow thrown at him before moving down the hall to the laundry room. Keiko untangled herself from the blankets and stood, yawning loudly.

"You know…I'm still getting the feeling I'm forgetting something more important than the apocalypse."

Keiko walked out of the bathroom snagging one of Rei's unguarded shirts from the dryer on her way back to her room. Tossing the shirt on a chair she rummaged around in her closet until she found her comfy jeans and a sports bra, pulling them on before grabbing up the shirt and heading downstairs, drawn by the tantalizing smell of grilled cheese and Kraft Dinner. Slipping into the kitchen where Ryou was fending off Takao, she snatched the toast from the counter, taking a bite before greeting them.

"Hey Ry. Takao hands off." She said holding the toast in her mouth and grabbing the boy by the waist and pulling him away from the stove.

"Go amuse yourself for 5 minutes." She said kicking him in the butt to get him moving, and then hopping onto the counter beside the stove watching Ryou cook.

"Sleepy hun?" He asked watching as she yawned loudly and nodded.

"Then this should wake you up. Shiori-san called, she said we have a new work base. We're planning to be at Seto-kuns for Thursday. Tala's on his way, he said to be ready. And someone named Koenma called while you were sleeping. Said something about trying to reach a friend of yours across the boarder and tell him the news. Whatever that means." Keiko nodded absently taking in the information and munching on her toast.

Wait….hold up.

"Koenma called?" She almost choked on her toast as she jumped off the counter and ran to the phone.

"That sonofabitch! He had better not!" She found herself throwing out obscenities for the second time since waking. Ryou turned off the stove and moved the food onto a plate and into bowls before heading out into the dining room and closing the door.

"Smart boy." Keiko muttered while she waited for someone on the other line to pick up.

"Hi Botan! No, no I'm fine. Can I talk to your boss?" She asked sweetly, her eyes shining with a promise of death.

Five minutes later, Keiko's yelling had woken up the rest of the occupants of the house and most had run for their lives. Being the only permanent female instalment in the house she had trained them well. And well did they use their training. While most had run for the hills, Kai had opted to stay outside the kitchen door his eyes almost crossed in concentration trying to figure out who and what she was yelling about.

"DOES IT SEEM LIKE I HAVE A DEATH WISH YOU UNDERSIZED PRINCE OF SOOTHERS?! IF HE FINDS OUT HE'S GONNA—YES I KNOW! Kai get away from the fucking door! NO I wasn't talking to yo-DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" Kai had heard enough and moved away from the door and as fast as he could before his 'daughters' wrath was turned on him.

Rei was about to run downstairs to see who had been killed-by the sounds of it, it had been Takao- when he slammed into a brick wall.

"OW! Stupid wall!" He cursed from his place on the floor. He blinked at the hand in front of his face following it up an arm, to a well built and strangely familiar chest to his boyfriends face.

"Oh, you're not a wall." He muttered grabbing Kai's hand and letting himself be pulled up. Letting his boyfriend haul him into the nearest room, Rei only sent a questioning look towards him as he locked them in. Noticing the look, Kai explained.

"Keiko's on a rampage."

Keiko had listened with half an ear to Koenmas' stammered explanation as to exactly **why** he was trying to contact Yusuke and tell him about the shadow game when she happened to glance at the clock. 3:42. She sighed and continued to listen to the small God talk before she felt it. The nagging little feeling that starts by pulling at the corners of your mind then moves down your back and around to settle in the pit of your stomach, leaving you with the felling that something is very, very wrong with the situation. Trying to shake off the feeling, she started humming a catchy Russian drinking song that Tala had taught her last year.

Wait a sec.

Tala.

Tala…

TALA!

"Shit! SorryKoenmabutIreallygottagocallyoubacklaterthisisaworldabouttoendlevelemergancysayhitoBotanformeBYE!" Slamming the phone down she rushed out of the kitchen before yelling at Kai to 'get his ass down stairs before hell swallowed them all'.

"What?"

"TALA! Tala's coming in ten minutes!" Keiko exclaimed causing her previously hidden house mates to become _un_hidden. Rei walked up behind Kai as Takao sniggered.

"He'll be coming sooner than that if Bryans involved." Keiko shot him an annoyed look.

"Sooo not what I meant."

"But you know it's true."

"How about we _not_ discuss Tala's relationship with Bryan right now." Rei interjected.

"They probably did it in the bathroom on the plane." Takao shuddered at the mental image.

"With Tala's screaming? They'd blow out a window."

"ALRIGHT that's enough!" Rei snapped slapping his hand over both of their mouths.

"Now, when is Tala…_arriving_?" Keiko licked Rei's hand causing him to pull it away and frown at her, sending a swat towards her head before she answered.

"Ten…five minutes. And we are totally unprepared." Takao hit his fist against his palm and smiled.

"Right! And when unprepared for Tala and co. there's only one thing to do!" Keiko nodded enthusiastically.

"Yesh! Run around like headless chickens hoping to H E double-hockey-sticks that someone else gets our meaning." The stood in silence for a minute looking at Keiko before they all bolted in different directions.

"AHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

"WHOA! What's going on?!"

"I dunno?!"

"ARG! Who hit the lights?!" The world was suddenly plunged into darkness and the house was thrown into mass chaos. Curses were exchanged, dishes broke, and Bakura took the opportunity to steal Mariks porn mags via shadow magic.

"HEY! Who's using shadow magic?!"

"Who do you think baka pharaoh?"

"Shut up tomb robber!"

"Make me almighty chicken shit!"

"Who's got the phone?!"

"STOP!" Everyone froze as Max turned on the lights.

"Tala just called, they'll be delayed for another 10 minutes." The lights switched back off as everyone let out a collective sigh of relief and collapsed onto the nearest piece of furniture.

Almost an hour later, Keiko sat on the couch sipping the glass of chocolate milk she had recently confiscated from Yugi and waited for the…_arrival_ of Tala and his team. Glancing up at the clock, she took note of the time and went back to watching the game that Yami and Marik were playing. Tuning into their bickering for a few seconds, she rolled her eyes when the usual threats involving the shadow realm came up before blinking when she heard the doorbell.

Frowning, she set the almost-empty glass down and stood up to answer the door.

"Who the hell rings the door bell?" Malik paused and turned back to her.

"Jehovah Witnesses?" Keiko's face brightened and she bolted to the door, Malik right behind her.  
"DEMENTED RELIGIOUS FREAKS PREPARE TO MEET YOUR SATAN!" Malik yelled as the two reached the door. Yanking it open Malik stared at the group of people standing on the porch and sighed dejectedly.

"You're not Jehovah witnesses." He muttered crossly before pouting.

"TALA!" Keiko yelled jumping the familiar red head and hugging him fiercely.

"Hello to you too!" He said returning her embrace and kissing her cheek. The rest were greeted similarly before entering the house.

"Rei! Kai! Tala's here!" Rei poked his head out of the kitchen and grinned.

"Hey guys! Want something to eat? I know airport food is almost as bad as the crap they feed you in hospitals so I made extra." He said grinning.

"YAY! Rei-Rei's cooking!" Tala yelled and bolted into the kitchen. Bryan followed after and Ian and Spencer shook their heads.

"He'll never change." They said looking after their captain and team mate.

"Yup. You ok with staying in your normal room until we get to Seto's? " The boys nodded and grabbed their bags.

"Yeah. Let us put our stuff up stairs then we'll be back for food." Keiko nodded and smiled.

"No problem. I'll tell Tal to leave you some." Keiko smiled as she watched the two walk up the stairs before heading into the kitchen. Finally, things were looking up.

It was a little after 7 in the evening when the doorbell rang. Of course it was a miracle anyone even heard the damn thing over Tala and Malik's video game, Bakura and Atemu's shouting threats about the shadow world and Tyson's training with Chief and Dizzy.

Keiko meanwhile, was in the middle of a heated argument with Kai.

"Shut up birdbrain!" she yelled at him while they tumbled together on the floor in an intense wrestling match. The item they were wrestling over, lay forgotten on the couch.

"Birdbrain?" Kai snarled as he rolled on top and pinned her to the floor.

"Yes, _birdbrain_." Keiko rolled back over so she was sitting on his chest grappling for his hands.

"You share your mind with something tha-GAH!" She couldn't finish her sentence as Kai flipped them again and easily caught her hands. He leaned close, his red eyes narrowing.

"What were you saying about Dranzer?"

"He's a bird. So are you." Kai puffed out his cheeks and huffed.

"He's a _pheonix_. Not a bird!"

"He's a bird you're a bird brain!" Keiko was saved by the doorbell that sounded quitely through the house. Kai let her up, but not before kicking her butt as she left the room.

"Pheonix!" He roared from the living room.

"BIRD GOD DAMNIT! BIRD!" Keiko screamed as she yanked open the door and stepped outside, closing the door to block Kai's protests.

"Heh, heh sorry about that how can I—" Keiko paled and her eyes widened as she looked over the familiar red head standing on the porch.

"Kurama?!"

_Your move!_

_Its time to duel and there's no backing down the heart of the cards is where magic is found, we've played this game before but never quite this way, its like an all out war with monsters that obey!_

_Yu gi oh he's the king of games _

_Yu gi oh King of games!_

Rylen- Ok, you get a free Tala plushie for the one who guesses who Keiko was snuggling with on the couch! –looks at Cait and Ginny- You two don't count.

And no offence to any religious people but the doorbell thing is an inside joke at my house. )


	3. Survival of the fittest

Disclaimer: Beyblade, Yu Gi Oh and Yu Yu Hakusho all belong to their respective owners.

Warnings: Language, mansex, Tala, violence, Tala.

A/N: I think I forgot to mention this, while Yugi and co are from Domino, Keiko is from the Sarayashiki district; therefore they live with Keiko in Sarayashiki. However, Keiko's original house, (the one with the restaurant) was destroyed therefore they have a new and bigger house. Seto Kaiba still lives in Domino, the only city in Japan left untouched by the shadow games. So when they say going to Kaiba's, they mean going back to Domino city. ;D

Annnnd yes to clarify, most of the Yu Gi Oh boys are gay…as for the yu yu hakusho boys…I like closets…kekeke. I lied. I haven't updated. So I re-did this chapter a bit.

_Kids are doing it all across the nation_

_Time to battle now for world domination_

_Cooler than you're hip, you better get a grip_

_The battle has begun so let it rip_

**All across the nation**

Chapter 2 – Survival of the fittest

"I came to ask you a favour." The surprise visitor sat opposite Keiko at the small wooden table usually reserved only for late night snacking and pouring over information at 4am, casually cradling a large mug of coffee looking more dangerous and frustrated than she had seen him since the dark tournament.

Out of habit she placed the jar of cookies on the table momentarily forgetting that she probably couldn't get away with dealing with Kurama the same way she usually dealt with Max, Takao and the Hikari trio. Ignoring his questioning stare, Keiko easily scooped four Oreo's into her hand and deposited them on the table in front of her as she sat down with her mug of tea ready to talk to her old friend.

Though Rei and Kai had yet to return to the kitchen, the noise level had lowered considerably telling her that everyone in the house was now aware that they had unknown company. Taking a calm sip of her tea she waited for Kurama to settle before diving right in.

"What kind of favour do you have in mind?" She chewed on a cookie while studying the demon across the table and waited for him to answer. If her new senses were working properly, the favour probably involved a lot of danger and situations that would be hard to explain even to her current family. Her suspicions were confirmed when he answered.

"I can't seem to find the Kuwabara siblings." The fox demons' voice was low and touched with the slightest hint of annoyance and she repressed a flinch, instead raising her head to look at him full on.

"Really? That's nothing new." Her voice was equally as soft, knowing that at least two Yami's were outside the door listening in, maybe three. She wouldn't put it past Kai and Rei to be listening in by the second door either. Sending a wary look towards the door behind the table she listened to the rest of Kurama's proposition.

"Their old house is destroyed... as is most of this city." Ah. So he had been here a while. Taking another cookie Keiko munched her way through it slowly while debating on how to answer. She was saved however when Kai decided to waltz back into the kitchen and break up their chatter session. Rei was close behind him as the door shut and the two took up position in the chairs on in between the friends.

"Funny. I would have thought that was common knowledge. Since, you know Japan has been this way for the better part of three years now." Kai broke in telling Keiko exactly how long he had been listening outside the door. Rei subtly raised an eyebrow at the cookies before picking one up himself and sitting back to watch the verbal banter Kai was initiating. Kurama looked unfazed, something he was good at doing Keiko took note, as he turned his attention from her to her blue haired cousin.

"I've been traveling. Haven't found much time to make it back until recently." Oh, you idiot. Keiko mentally scolded the demon exchanging a look with Rei as Kai's grin broadened from smug to Bastard.

"Really. Travelling where. Because last time I turned on the news, the rest of the world wasn't doing much better than we are." Kai had backed Kurama into a solid corner and the demon narrowed his eyes at the challenge.

"Kai." Rei and Keiko broke in at the same time, Rei's tone merely making Kai snort and lean back in his chair to smirk knowingly at Kurama, while Keiko's interruption turned the red heads attention back to her.

"Kai, he's from the Makai. They haven't been touched by the games." Kai's expression darkened and he leaned forward placing his hands on the table moving to stand but Rei beat him to it. The neko jin was around the table with one hand on Kai's shoulder and both golden eyes turned to Kurama. The demon looked mildly surprised but didn't move.

"You would be Shiori-san's son then." Oh, Rei was sharp. Keiko tactfully avoided all three sets of eyes as they turned to her and instead concentrated on drinking more of her tea and counting how many licks it took to get all the icing off an Oreo cookie. Lifting her gaze lazily once she was finished and no one had said anything, Keiko smirked and tilted her head back until she could see the main door out of the corner of her eye.

"Marik. Bakura. Get away from the door if you want to keep your items." Kai swore and Rei looked more surprised than he should have been and Kurama just looked confused. The shadow presences that no one else could feel moved away from the door and she smiled.

"Now we can continue." Rei sat back down in his own seat and crossed his arms putting on his best impassive face while Kai dropped his smirk and set all four legs of the chair back on the ground.

"Kurama. Shuichi, actually. Better suited for this topic I would think." The mug landed back on the table a little harder than she meant it to but it was too late to fix it now. "The Kuwabara siblings are somewhere in America and have been since you left. Your mother also moved there after a few months to work directly under Maximillion Pegasus. She's due back for a visit in three weeks."

By the tight line of his lips that hadn't been what Kurama- Shuichi had been after.

"I saw the house Keiko. And the school. The whole district actually." His voice was soft again and she was suddenly reminded of the night before Yusuke's final fight against Toguro. He tapped his nails absently on the table top while he waited for a response. Pain rushed up against the backs of her eyes and tears threatened to rise but she bit them back harshly. So he was playing dirty was he?

"Hard not to." She agreed in a light tone, surprising all three of the men. Shrugging she continued. "It's not like it's a big secret. Though some would rather pretend it didn't happen, that area is one of the most used in research against the game we're playing. But you wouldn't know that since you've been training to replace a demon king now haven't you?" Treading dangerous ground could get her killed but being nice wasn't on her agenda these days. "You know, some people might be a little sore about that." Draining the last of her tea she crossed the room to set the mug in the dishwasher.

"Keiko." Kai's sharp tone had both her and Kurama looking up, the latter in narrowed anger. Ah. That was what she had been waiting for. So Yusuke _had_ sent him to find her. That meant Hiei was somewhere close by.

"We're playing a game Shuichi. Only when you lose, you die. No second chances, no new lives, just death. But do you know what makes it worse? The knowledge that you're not going up or down. Your soul is taking a one way trip to the shadow realm." Her hands clenched on the counter top as she hissed out a brief explanation.

"And you know what happens after you end up in the shadow realm? Of course you do. After all, you did watch almost the full tape of Chapter Black." The reaction was instant, hands on her shoulders were spinning her around, forest green eyes boring into hers in hardly contained anguish at the memory.

"That power was sealed by Enma and the King of shadows 5000 years ago!"

"Enma's dead." Kai's nonchalant tone had Kurama pushing Keiko back into the counter and stepping in front of her to face Kai.

"I think, Keiko, that this discussion is over. I'm taking you to Makai, you'll stay there until this is sorted out." Kai was on his feet and Rei wasn't far behind him when two solid arms wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her backwards, black taking over her vision before she could figure out what was happening in front of her. She blinked and the next instant she found herself sitting on the floor of a limestone maze, the walls engraved with hieroglyphs foretelling of more prophesies than the Vatican had claim to.

"Marik!" The insane laughter died down to the odd chuckle or two as Keiko stood up and adjusted the linen shift that replaced her clothing in the safe section of the shadow realm.

"What did you do that for?" Her voice came out as more of a whine than a demand, but it wasn't her fault. Really.

"Things were getting fuuun. So Malik-pretty said to take you away where the bad man won't be able to get you!" The argument defending Kurama against being a 'bad man' died on her tongue as Marik wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her chest. She was used to his ecstatic behaviour, so instead of pry him off, she threaded one hand through his spiky sandy blonde hair and wrapping the other around his back. He made a content noise before starting to purr, something she found he could do a while ago that she had yet to bring up in conversation.

"And why does Malik think that Kurama is a bad man?"

"Because the man in the shadows tried to make us mind slaves before you almost got kidnapped." Keiko realized he was talking about Hiei and frowned.

"How did the shadow man try to make you mind slaves?" She asked, petting his hair gently.

"He used his eye. Pharaoh-Baka said it was like the Sennen Eye only weaker, because the puzzle fought back. Shadow man fell out of the tree." Marik giggled and hugged her tighter as his own Sennen eye activated.

Keiko tried to picture Hiei falling out of a tree but failed to come up with the image required. It was a funny thought though.

-------------------------------------

Youko stood on the roof of a demolished house absently cleaning his nails while he waited for his partner to arrive. The tree next to him shuddered lightly despite it being a windless night and the fox demon turned to his friend.

"Well?" There was no answer from the tree and he sighed.

"You couldn't find her could you."

"Hn." The short red eyed demon joined the fox on the roof and glared at the ground below.

"Well, Yusuke won't be happy. He wanted us back by tonight. I take it you're not going to leave this alone until you figure out what prevented you from reading their minds?" The short demon provided no answer but the taller demon continued on as if he had. "Alright. I'll find a portal to America, see what I can pick up about Kuwabara. I'll be back in a week." The silver demon flitted off the roof and out of sight, heading for the nearest entrance back to Makai, leaving the Jagan user to himself.

"A week. Hn. Won't take me that long baka fox."

-------------------------------------

_For once I'd like an ending I can celebrate_

_Stacked the deck myself, so there's no one else to blame_

_I need just one more move…one final chance to prove..._

_I can win this game_

**One Card Short**

A/N: Totally different from what I had before. I'm hoping to re do all the chapters before getting the next one up.

Next time:

Tala cross dresses, Hiei and Keiko have a friendly chat and the Main Bad Guy's Main Minions are introduced. STAY TUNED!


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